Robert Christopher Elswit, is an American cinematographer.
He is best known for his collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson from 1996 to 2014, winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for There Will Be Blood (2007).Eugene Hernandez, "Decade: Paul Thomas Anderson on 'There Will Be Blood'," indieWIRE (December 24, 2009) Retrieved June 4, 2010.
Elswit has also collaborated with directors and screenwriters Tony and Dan Gilroy on all of the six films that either brother directed.
Early life and education Elswit was born in Los Angeles. His brother is musician Rik Elswit.
He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant.
Elswit has cited filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence.
Career His early work on was the 1982 television adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story All Summer in a Day. He worked as a visual effects camera operator at John Dykstra's Apogee Productions Inc. and Industrial Light & Magic, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Empire Strikes Back, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Return of the Jedi, before shooting made-for-television films and shows.
He shot his black and white, Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. He first shot the film in color, and then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, the technique preserved the subtlety of the colors (as complex shades of blacks and greys) and made the overall look much richer in the final film."A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck," StudioDaily (January 1, 2006) Retrieved April 19, 2011. His work earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
He later won the award for There Will Be Blood in 2008.
Elswit is a self-described traditionalist in shooting technique, and has been a fierce defender of film cameras, avoiding using digital cameras whenever possible, claiming that they have "no texture, no grain", though he started shooting digitally with Nightcrawler.
Personal life Elswit is the godfather to the actor Jake Gyllenhaal, he worked with Jake's father Stephen Gyllenhaal early in his career.
Filmography Television Year Title Director Notes 1980 CBS Library Seth PinskerSam Weiss Episode "The Incredible Book Escape" 1985 CBS Schoolbreak Special Michael Toshiyuki Uno Episode "The War Between the Classes" 1989 Dream Street Mark Rosner Episode "Pilot" 1992 Human Target Max Tash Episode "Pilot" 1997 Prince Street Roger Spottiswoode Episode "Pilot" 2016 The Night Of Steven Zaillian Episode "The Beach"
Miniseries Year Title Director 2024 Ripley Steven Zaillian 2026 The Boys from Brazil Alex Gabassi
TV movies Year Title Director Notes 1982 All Summer in a Day Ed Kaplan 1983 Tiger Town Alan Shapiro 1984 A Single Light Karl Epstein 1986 The Children of Times Square Curtis Hanson1987 A Different Affair Noel Nosseck Long Gone Martin Davidson Into the Homeland Lesli Linka Glatter 1989 Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White Lawrence Schiller1990 A Killing in a Small Town Stephen Gyllenhaal Steel Magnolias Thomas Schlamme Opposites Attract Noel Nosseck1991 Prison Stories: Women on the Inside Donna DeitchJoan Micklin Silver Segments "Esperanza" and "Parole Board" The Summer My Father Grew Up Michael Tuchner Paris Trout Stephen Gyllenhaal Vidiots Howard Storm 1992 A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story Martin Davidson 2026 The Punisher: One Last Kill Reinaldo Marcus Green TV special
+Key Denotes titles that have not yet been released
Feature film Year Title Director Notes 1981 The End of August Bob Graham 1982 Waltz Across Texas Ernest Day 1983 Summerspell Lina Shanklin1985 The Sure Thing Rob Reiner Moving Violations Neal Israel Desert Hearts Donna Deitch 1986 Trick or Treat Charles Martin Smith 1987 Amazing Grace and Chuck Mike Newell 1988 Return of the Living Dead Part II Ken Wiederhorn1989 How I Got into College Savage Steve Holland Heart of Dixie Martin Davidson 1990 Bad InfluenceCurtis Hanson1992 The Hand That Rocks the Cradle WaterlandStephen Gyllenhaal 1993 A Dangerous Woman 1994 The River Wild Curtis Hanson1996 Hard Eight Paul Thomas Anderson The Pallbearer Matt Reeves Boys Stacy Cochran1997 Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson Tomorrow Never Dies Roger Spottiswoode1999 8mm Joel Schumacher Magnolia Paul Thomas Anderson 2000 Bounce Don Roos2001 Heist David Mamet Impostor Gary Fleder 2002 Punch-Drunk Love Paul Thomas Anderson2003 Behind the Red Door Matia Karrell Gigli Martin Brest Runaway Jury Gary Fleder2005 Good Night, and Good Luck George Clooney Syriana Stephen Gaghan 2006 American Dreamz Paul Weitz2007 Michael Clayton Tony Gilroy There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson2008 Redbelt David Mamet The Burning Plain Guillermo Arriaga2009 Duplicity Tony Gilroy The Men Who Stare at Goats Grant Heslov2010 The Town Ben Affleck Salt Phillip Noyce 2011 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Brad Bird 2012 The Bourne Legacy Tony Gilroy2014 Inherent Vice Paul Thomas Anderson Nightcrawler Dan Gilroy 2015 Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Christopher McQuarrie 2016 Gold Stephen Gaghan2017 Suburbicon George Clooney Roman J. Israel, Esq. Dan Gilroy2018 Skyscraper Rawson Marshall Thurber Write When You Get Work Stacy Cochran 2019 Velvet Buzzsaw Dan Gilroy 2020 The King of Staten Island Judd Apatow 2021 King RichardReinaldo Marcus Green 2024 Bob Marley: One Love 2025 Ella McCay James L. Brooks 2026 Ben Affleck Post-production
Awards and nominations Major awards Year Award Category Title Result Ref. 2005Academy AwardsBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2005American Society of CinematographersOutstanding Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007There Will Be Blood BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography 2005 Camerimage Golden Frog Award Good Night, and Good Luck 1984 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography CBS Schoolbreak Special("The War Between The Classes") 1997Independent Spirit AwardsBest Cinematography Hard Eight 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for aLimited or Anthology Series or Movie Ripley ("V Lucio") 2005Satellite AwardsBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2010 Salt 2014 Inherent Vice
Critics awards Year Award Category Title Result 2007 Austin Film Critics Association Best Cinematography There Will Be Blood 2005 Boston Society of Film Critics Best CinematographyGood Night, and Good Luck Chicago Film Critics AssociationBest Cinematography 2007 There Will Be Blood 2014Inherent Vice Houston Film Critics Society Best Cinematography 2005Los Angeles Film Critics AssociationBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2002National Society of Film CriticsBest Cinematography Punch-Drunk Love 2005 Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2005New York Film Critics CircleBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2005Online Film Critics SocietyBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2014 Utah Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nightcrawler 2007San Diego Film Critics SocietyBest Cinematography There Will Be Blood 2014 Nightcrawler 2005St. Louis Film Critics AssociationBest Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2007 There Will Be Blood 2014 Nightcrawler
Other awards Year Award Category Title Result 1988 CableACE AwardBest Cinematography Long Gone 2007 International Online Cinema Awards There Will Be Blood
References
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